It's very spring-y around here, so I'm trying to get out with the camera as much as possible.
seeking wisdom
Here on Mesquite Hugger three posts are in the works: my religious evolution, guerilla stewardship, and the importance of getting out of your normal places.
My non-electric car under spring blooms
Over at 2WheelsMaybe I'm working on a post about whether or not electric cars are welcome in my town (or yours).
Speaking of wheels, Greg and Mark dropped off a stack of underappreciated BMX bikes that need some tuning up and minor repairs. I'm hoping to fix them up and find them homes where they'll be used and enjoyed. I'm thinking of doing a post or video about one of those.
On Youtube I'm recording a lot of nature b-roll without bicycles. (I fell off my mountain bike and bruised a rib - taking a little bike break.) Hopefully the b-roll will turn into a few more local favorite parks videos. I'm also working on some third place video to supplement the blog post.
That's about it for now. Thanks for checking in! As always, I am praying that you are well, you are joyful, and your eyes are open to the beauty that exists around you!
This weekend I was pedaling down an alley and spotted my first robin of 2024. I remembered years ago sitting in a summer Spanish class and learning that robins are called primaveras in Spanish. Primavera is also the Spanish word for spring. I've been watching the signs of spring becoming more evident for a few weeks, but the robin cemented the deal in my mind. Spring is here, people!
Patches of green here and there
I've seen several bird changes lately. Lots of cormorants have arrived. They've become much more numerous in our local parks as the Canadian geese have flown away. There were white-crowned sparrows and some unfamiliar larks in the mesquites at Mae Simmons Park on Saturday. Great blue herons are much more numerous this week. The egrets haven't started showing up, but I'm watching for them. Northern shovelers are still hanging out in most of the playa lakes. I'm seeing (and hearing) more mockingbirds, and the starlings are starting to display their breeding plumage. This time of year makes me want bigger lenses and more patience for photography.
The little brown dots on the elms will soon be leaves.
I am spending more time outside, more time riding, and more time picking up trash. Yesterday the jeans got to skip the dryer. The little black Ford never left the house. I am so very thankful for time outside.
Click the pic to see a little Lubbock, Texas breeze.
This morning I did not need a coat or anything to keep my ears warm as I rode to work. It was almost sixty when I left the house this morning. It'll be a little tougher on the ride home - a forecast of 87 and 25 mile per hour winds. (And I'll be smiling the whole way!)
All those little yellow flowers at Mae Simmons
This pic has nothing to do with spring, but Phoebe loves free publicity.
May you be enthralled with the beauty around you, may you be delighted with all the seasonal changes, and may you nap like a hound!
I pray you are joyful and well, and I sincerely thank you for checking in.
Yesterday I did something I haven't done in a while - I went to my favorite park with a trash bag and a picker-upper.
It's a spot I visit often, a beautiful and peaceful place a few blocks from home. While I often pick up a few pieces of trash there, this is the first time in a very long time that I went focused and equipped for that purpose.
It felt good. It felt right.
It's not anything huge, but it was nice to contribute to the beauty of the place rather than just soaking it in.
Winter is a great season for picking trash up. The lack of green vegetation makes it easier to find and pick up all the flotsam that runs into the local ponds when it rains.
Mostly I found cans and bottles, but I also encountered clothes, toys, hygiene products, and a couple of car parts.
I spent about five minutes filling the bag. Then I spent another five minutes just breathing in and praying thanks.
Afterwards, I took a few pictures of ducks on the pond and was rewarded with a bird I never expected to see in the wild - especially not in the wilds of Lubbock - a Japanese wood duck!
(the one at the top)
Last night was wonderful. The last several years have been rough ones. My focus has been on keeping the bills paid and repairing all the stuff that falls apart. But I started remembering times when stewardship was a regular focus. I remembered a time when Mesquite Hugger was a reflection of what I value. This planet, this environment, is a gift of incredible natural beauty. It is also our home that sustains us.
I'm ready to get back to work. I hope you will join me and spread the word. One dork picking up trash and choosing to live cleaner won't make much of a difference, but a whole bunch of us working together and inviting others along - that can be the start of something wonderful!
(By the way, this morning I did something I haven't done in a while - I left the car at home and rode the bike to work. One more step...)
I am praying for you to be blessed, joyful, well, and motivated to make life better for all.
For a better look at the park mentioned in this post, check out this video:
I keep finding myself in doctors' offices with my family. We're mostly in the UMC system, so each office has the same electronic reader board that displays a new e-poster every thirty seconds or so. It's smart. We are an A-D-D culture trapped in a tiny room. The scrolling images help us not to go bonkers and give us lots of great health advice that we wouldn't sit still for anywhere else.
Apple, heart, lifestyle changes
Besides the A-D-D thing, I've always been a compulsive reader. If there's a printed word, I can't resist. It's astounding how many cereal boxes I've read as I sat there munching sugar-coated goodness.
So, as we sit waiting for doctors, I have no choice. I have to read. Really - I absolutely have to!
Scale, apple, shoe
What I've come to notice is that the health posters keep telling us the same things to help us live a healthy life:
Eat better food
Exercise
Lose weight
Lower your stress
Avoid inhaling smoke
Woohoo! This one even has a pic of a bike!
Those messages play over and over. It's amazing how many times I've seen them without making this one simple connection - all of the eco-health-save-the-planet-climate-strike messages I read just as voraciously say the same thing.
Eat Better
less and cleaner meat
more locally-grown, chemical free veggies
less processed foods
less processed sugar (There goes my cereal box!)
less food served in plastic, stryrofoam, and cardboard
Exercise, Be more Active, Lose Weight
utilize people-powered transportation as much as possible (biking, walking, etc.)
use stairs
ride a bike
get outside
ride a bike
garden
ride a bike
turn off the TV, phone, computer, tablet
ride a bike
get off your butt and on your feet
ride a bike
(all about the boodie)
Lower Your Stress
drive less
sleep better/more
turn off the electronics
exercise
eat better
spend time with good people
Avoid Inhaling Smoke
from tobacco
from vaping
from tailpipes (cars, trucks, lawn equipment, generators, boats, motorbikes, etc.)
from coal power
from natural gas
from clearing forests
So, there you have it - save yourself and get the added bonus of saving the planet. Not a bad deal at all!
I pray that you are well and getting better. Thanks for reading, friends!
I'm not sure if he knows it or not, but Dustin and I are in training for some bigger bike rides in the next few months. So, yesterday after church we pedaled on over to the Heart of Lubbock Community Garden. The garden's looking great and the pollinators were downright intoxicated. It was awesome to be there and see all that tiny pollinating action happen on such a massive scale. All the six-legged critters were making it happen. Dustin was excited to see his science class lessons coming to life! (Thanks, Ms. Litteral!)
(Shots from several commutes over the last few weeks)
It was a beautiful morning! Very little traffic. A cool (but light) breeze. The bike was working well. My knees were working well. I rode a few miles on Sunday. I rode to work on Monday. I hope to ride tomorrow.
My wife and I saw an OmniMax movie last night - part of the BBC Blue Planet series. And it had astounding footage of all kinds of creatures. And it offered up some optimism for the future; however, like all modern nature documentaries, the ever-present villain was man-made environmental destruction.
They're too small to see here, but there's a cow bird,
a snowy egret, and a green heron in this one.
And that makes the bike rides even better. Every time a person chooses to travel by bike (in place of a single-occupant car) we all breathe a little better. I know it's very simplistic, but my greatest hope in all of this is to have thousands of people making incrementally better choices about petroleum and plastics and pollution. I know that would have a massively greater impact than just this one dork joyfully riding a bike as often as possible.
Click below to see this hawk flying away with breakfast
Hey, it's Mesquite Hugger - I had to include it!
Dragonfly
If you find yourself in Mansfield, they have some great places to get away without even leaving town. May you find yourself surrounded with natural beauty!
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
